Supplemental Materials

Challenges to the New Republic: The War of 1812

Challenges to the New Republic: The War of 1812 examines the foreign policy challenges of the early U.S. administrations as the new nation struggled to gain international respect. Students consider the choices for America in 1812.

Web Links

There are several websites that may be of use for each president covered in the reading. Below are examples of four types: PBS programs, White House biographies, the historical home of the president, and the Library of Congress archives.

George Washington
Lesson plans, time lines, multimedia presentations, and documents

John Adams
Short biography on the White House site.

Monticello
Thomas Jefferson’s home. Includes biography, timeline, and artifacts.

Papers of James Madison
James Madison’s correspondence, a timeline, essays, and a short biography.

Books

Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T. Heidler. The War of 1812 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002) 217 pages.

Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989) 457 pages.

White, Patrick C.T. A Nation on Trial: America and the War of 1812 (New York: Wiley, 1965) 177 pages.

NOTE: This is a selected list of resources focused on the topic of the curriculum unit, Challenges to the New Republic: The War of 1812. Additional resources will be added to this site as they become available.